By Salomé van den Berg
The Eastern Free State Veld Bull Club, which has a long history in the South African livestock industry, held its 37th auction in the Vrede auction kraal on 3 June.
The club was founded in 1985 after a group of cattle breeders from the Eastern Free State visited Dr Johan Meaker of Dundee, who ran a veld bull club. The Eastern Free State veld bull club’s first chairman was Tiens Zietsman of Vrede. The first bulls were taken in in 1986 on the farm Aasvogelkrans near Verkykerskop, and the first auction was held in September 1987 at Vrede.
The club concentrates on breeding hardy veld cattle that adapt to local conditions.
At this year’s auction, there were again veld-adapted animals from which you could pick and choose. The prices reflected the quality of the animals and the following average prices were achieved:
- Beefmaster bulls: R57 777,78
- Braford bulls: R45 000
- Commercial Beefmasters: R49 038
- Commercial Brafords: R40 000
Charles Campher of Sandspruit Beefmasters in Ladysmith sold the most expensive bull for R120 000 to Jan Jooste & Seuns farm of Kestell.
Divided opinions on the auction
Ian Grobbelaar, auctioneer of Vleissentraal, known for his slogan “buy the bull you want and not what is left!”, described the auction as excellent. He said it was a good auction and the organisers were very pleased with the results.
Koos Dafel, one of the buyers, was concerned about the absence of buyers. He believes the bulls’ prices were only half of what they were worth, given the quality available at the auction.
